Technology Districts

 Fondazione Torino Wireless

 

Corso Galileo Ferraris, 64
10129 Turin
(Piedmont)

Telephone:
+39 011 1950 1401
Fax:
+39 011 509 7323
URL:
www.torinowireless.it

President:
Prof. Rodolfo Zich
Director:
Ing. Claudio Giuliano
Contact:
Claudine Faleo
Email:
info@torinowireless.it

Main points

ICT & Industry, Infomobility, e-Health, Security / e-Security, domotica, localization

Brief description

The Torino Wireless project was begun in December 2000. Upon the initiative of the Associazione Torino Internazionale and the commitment of the Piemont Region and the Istituto Superiore Marion Boella (ISMB), the Unione Industriale and of ITP, a concerted circle was founded to sensitise the project participants in the Piemont Region.
The regional facilities expressly wanted thereby to offer a high-grade alternative to the automotive sector. The car city of Turin decided with the foundation of the ICT District Torino Wireless to go for a leading position in the high-tech sector and based this on a wide-ranging culture in the region: technological innovation.

2001
In 2001 a series of training and study seminars were held, in which important development prospects in the district were presented: numerous manufacturing firms in the high tech sector, large ICT management services providers and above all companies active in the new ICT segment are located in Turin and the environs.

December 2001
The founding members signed a Memorandum of Understanding, in which the joint commitment for the foundation of Torino Wireless and an ICT Valleys with its centre in Turin was set out. Since then the work progresses ever faster.

2002
In 2002 a management committee was founded with the task of establishing the action guidelines until the foundation of the District; a sponsorship committee consisting of the regional institutions was to set up the necessary organisational structures.

December 2002
In December 2002, the Torino Wireless foundation was founded.

Mai 2003
The official beginning was in May after the signing of the Programmation Agreement, in which the partners undertook to define joint actions and programmes and to coordinate the Torino Wireless Foundation activities, after the necessary independence had been given to it.
Since then the foundation works for the development of the Technology District with enormous resources and energy.
A Technology District with the emphasis on Information and Communications Technology (ICT), with its components Software, Multimedia, Optics, Microelectronics, Wireless and Wireline. This regional development model strengthens the influence of research on economic growth: this is all contained in Torino Wireless. But it is also an international district, in which the newest research can innovate by means of applications and systems in the fields infomobility, care, health, domotics, finances etc. i.e. also in traditional sectors.
The Torino Wireless Foundation is a mark of the joint commitment in the ICT sector
Of the most important participants in the regional development. Its task consists of accelerating the growth of the ICT district and to position it among the most innovative districts worldwide.
In order to achieve this aim the Foundation supports directly the technology- based companies by initial measures; it activates cooperation between SMEs, large companies and research centres for projects with high-tech content and important effects on the region; it supports the funding of the innovation by creating a Venture Capital Fund system.

Companies:
14.934
R&D facilities:
23

Sectors

    • ICT and Industry
      • Telecommunications
      • Multimedia
      • Electronics/Electro-Technology
      • Microelectronics
      • Measure, Control and Testing instruments
      • Robotics
      • Industrial automation
      • Process automation
    • Energy and Environment
      • Energy

Services

    • Research and Development
      • Technology transfer
    • Human Resources
      • Organisation of conferences, courses and seminars
      • Partnerships with universities and other research institutes
      • Management consultancy
    • Business
      • Development of business contacts
      • Consultancy related to intellectual property
      • Access to venture capital
      • Venture capital available
      • Network formations
    • Administrative services
      • Technical support in the selection of locations by companies and laboratory facilities

Data and Facts

Key data

  • Founded in: 2002
  • Companies: 13.000 in Piemont; 1420 in the databank; 332 analysed and assessed; 182 supported (532 measures)
  • Research Centres: 3 university centres; 9 public authority research centres; 4 private research centres; 7 mixed research centres(public/private)
  • Incubators: 3

Objectives

  • Extending the competitiveness of the companies
  • Support of SMEs
  • Enhancement of the cooperation between universities and companies
  • Support of a system of financial tools and financial specialists as support for innovation (Venture Capital)
  • Enhancement of the technological level of the companies and facilities
  • Creating new companies
  • Attracting investors
  • Excellent international standards

Network

  • ADITe (Association of Italian Technology Districts)
  • Milan Polytechnic
  • Newcom, European Excellence Network for Wireless Communications
  • Technology District Sophia Antipolis (France)
  • State of Queensland and NICTA (Australia)
  • Fundaciòn Chile su Galileo (Chile)
  • Districts Sapporo and Softopia, founded by JETRO (Japan)
  • British Columbia Wireless Cluster and Federal Research Center on telecommunications – CRC (Canada)
  • UCLA for Sensor Networks (USA)

Members

The Piemont Region is particularly suitable for the development of ICT technologies due to the following things: a large number of ICT services providers, important manufacturing companies of high-tech products and numerous SMEs in this segment and significant infrastructures in the field of research and innovation technology.The cooperation among the district members required coordination and goal-setting by the Torino Wireless foundation, above all, due to the complex development dynamics for innovation cycles and the ICTs. Resulting therefrom emerge quick technological and organisational adaptations, management and monitoring of continuous and rapid information flows, continuous new definitions of the competences for innovation.The activities performed to date in cooperation with all participants in the district can be described as follows: initiatives for support of research and development in the district region, support of intellectual property as an instrument for the valorisation of the innovations investments, support of the companies to a high knowledge status and funding to support them, stimulation of networking as a means to strengthen the SMEs, internationalisation and attraction of talents to create the company new possibilities. These are the components of the endeavours.

Location

Location and Environment

Name
Inhabitants
Distance

Location

Turin

The Torino Wireless Foundation is situated in the centre of Turin

WTP

Bioindustry Park (Colleretto Giacosa; Ivrea)

50 km (Motorway Turin-Aosta)

Environment Park (Turin)

4 km (in the city)

WTP Telecommunications Valle Scrivia (Tortona)

114 km (5 km from the toll station with Tortona with the connection to the A21 Turin-Piacenza)

Tecnogranda (Dronero, CN)

108 km (32 km from the motorway A6 TO-SV, exit MARENE)

Tecnoparco des Lago Maggiore (Verbania)

146 km (2km from the motorway junction Voltri-Sempione)

Virtual Reality and Multi Media Park (Turin)

7 km (in the city)

University

Turin Polytechnic

400 m (in the city)

Turin University

3 km (in the city)

University of East Piemont

81 km (Vercelli)

Infrastructure and links

Name
Distance

Airport

Turin, Italy (TRN) - Caselle

Turin airport is situated 16 km south of the city centre. From there it is only about 30 minutes via a fast by-pass to the motorway.

Railway Station

Porta Nuova

1,9 km – 4 Minutes

Porta Susa

2,3 km – 5 Min

Technology transfer

Inclusion in EU project

  • Alps IRC
  • European Venture Contest (Europe)
  • Pacte PME (France)
  • GAP – Global Access Program (USA)
  • Asia Invest II: Riding the waves of innovation (India)

Research and Development

GAL PMI Project

Description

The aim of this project is the development of prototype- like solutions in the field of further applications of the Galileo signal; this technology will have a major impact on the total European mobility situation.

Aim

The results of the project will be prototype-like solutions; at the end of the activities envisaged for April 2008, new services and technologies will be presented, which can be integrated in the market into the areas engineering and marketing. In particular, the realisation and delivery of telematic systems based on information resulting from the new localisation system.
Systems for the management of access roads in city centres, which are governed and controlled automatically via the satellite Galileo; thereby safety and precision will be generated, which cannot today be offered using GPS; support of mountain tourists by palm terminals or smartphones; this offers safety in areas which traditionally have no network coverage; rescue personnel can be supported. These are only some examples of solutions, which are being developed.

Sustained Mobility Sector
This sector is an outstanding application area of the Galileo system. In the areas traffic, rail and shipping, many applications have already been developed with the current localisation systems, such as navigation systems in vehicles, vehicle and traffic management; here can a greater degree of reliability, precision with the position and guarantee for the information received can be offered. Typical application examples using the localisation system Galileo and the local elements: urban public transport, management and regulation of the access routes to certain areas and structures, logistic management and rescue operations in the field of dangerous goods transport and toll payments.
In the sustained mobility sector, pricing many not be forgotten. Due to the restricted current localisation systems, no specific applications for the calculation of the amount or the payments of the toll are marketed. By means of certificated information with global coverage, new applications can be realised in the sector. The government of Great Britain stated at the beginning of June 2005 it was preparing a programme, whereby payments should be made per mile, with the title L.A.-style gridlock. Thus the car should be used less and the exhaust emissions be drastically reduced in the cities by 2020. This system is based on global and certificated position information.

Environmental Protection Area
Also in environmental protection, the Galileo system provides great benefits. Possible applications of these developments: continuous data and information collection for the study of tides and oceans, determination of the movements of icebergs, control of the atmosphere and analysis of the water vapour, climate studies, weather forecasters and the forecasting of earthquakes.

Bank and Finance Sector
Particularly important in the applications for the bank/finance sector are online transactions, authenticity guarantees and protection of information, exchange of coded documents. The possibilities of the Galileo system can be fully utilised in e-Commerce and e-Banking, which take place between companies and consumers (B2C), but also at higher and more difficult levels between companies and other companies (B2B). The information from the Galileo system used for such applications are transferred to Data Stamping. As this is a certificated specification, the documents are legally valid, economic transactions or there purchases made by credit card are safer; precisely here is worldwide fraud very widespread (phishing, pharming5). The information from Data Stamping could also be used very widely in the sphere e-trading for shares purchasing or sales, or for all Stock Exchange transactions, which are thereby certificated, legally valid and safe. Also for electronic signatures in use today profit can be gained by using this method.
The strategic objective of Galileo is directed above all at applications for institutions (transport companies, safety and rescue services…). The possible applications are subject-superordinate; financial support and national initiative will be required. The implementation of the necessary local elements to be able to supply charged services and service centres for management, needs larger investments and financial support by national and regional public authority facilities. This financial support should cover both the research phase and the pre-competitive development and also the infrastructural implementation of the services. Significant financial support in the research and development phases could be very important strategically for the regional facilities for private companies in the region to develop and consolidate technological specialist competence. These could then expand onto the national and global markets and offer their services on the basis of Galileo signals.

OMEGABOX Media Center

Description

OMEGABOX Media Center is a modern solution for the integration of multimedia services, with a high degree of usability for the user and applications similar to the set-top-box with interfaces and integrated multimedia devices (CD/DVD, digital TV receiver, keyboard and mouse….).
OMEGABOX serves as the platform for the support of the convergence between entertainment applications and communications such as ipTV over IP and video conferences: Integration and convergence are the strengths of this platform.

Aim

Development of HW and SW components for the processing of generated multimedia data flows or data flows at home (domotics and/or home entertainment).

  • Development of HW and SW components for the creation /administration of authors' rights for contents in accordance with an interoperability standard /iDRM) on the open source platform
  • Study and implementation of algorithms for the automation and/or development of necessary cognitive functions for use in the above mentioned areas (e.g. image recognition for security and video monitoring)
  • Development of interoperability functions between the services of the platform and the already existing devices in the household segment (e.g. bluetooth mobile telephones for voice recognition VoIP)

IRGAL

Description

Creation of a highly qualified regional network or cluster for the Galileo navigation system to develop research, innovation and technology transfer in the field Time of Galileo and Receiver of the Galileo Signal. The technical aims in detail
1) Research and Innovation in the field time. As part of the research and development a Caesium Atomic Clock prototype was developed. Starting from the exact analysis of this technology and the medium and long-term market requirements, a caesium atomic clock prototype was designed.
2) Research and Innovation for position receivers and timers. The focal point is the development of the Galileo Software Receiver and the features for the chip set. The Software Receiver is today a component of the most important international quality laboratories in the GNSS sector. This is the synthesis of all advanced insights into receivers. They are the core technology of all user terminals for the reception of position and time data. The SW receiver is a highly flexible instrument. Here every technological innovation can be placed on the market with a time-to-market, which would impossible for every other type of receiver. The competitiveness of a laboratory working in the Galileo User market segment is measured by his ability to process such a complex and simultaneously high-performance product such as a SW receiver. Here innovative elements with a high IPR content are present. The navigation laboratory has all the required competences to develop this receiver completely and simultaneously to enhance the competitiveness of all involved. The features of the chip set are processed also in the basic band of the receiver. The aim is to work out a process for the definition of the chip set criteria, so that a final version can be sent into the production workshop (after conclusion of the IRGAL project (Innovation and Research on Galileo), if the criteria for the Galileo signals have been finally determined. Development of the RF chip set of Galileo. The aim is to complete this as a pre-competitive prototype for the RF chip set. This is the key element of the Receiver Front-End Galileo.

Aim

The results of the IRGAL project will promote the attractivity and competitiveness of the Piemont Technology District as a result of the technology transfer to the companies located there.
Moreover, the cooperation with GTR (Galileo Test Range) Lazio is planned. GTR is a possibility to conduct measurement campaigns of the developed prototypes (e.g. SW Receiver). These measurement campaigns have synergy effects, as the planned prototypes can be tested in Piemont and the Galileo work upgraded in the Lazio Region.

Incubator and Incentives